Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

To be clear, any farmers who must have a low stocking rate because they farm in a commonage area and therefore must abide by a commonage framework programme which requires them to have a low stocking rate are exempt from any cuts and their payments will be maintained.

This is about what happened last year, as last year is the reference year for stocking rates. If one was below the threshold last year, one's payment will be removed unless one appeals and gets it back. This is not about telling farmers that if they do not increase their stocking rate, they will not receive a payment, because farmers would simply increase their stocking rates. This is about making a calculation of the farmers who actively farmed last year and measuring it on the basis of stocking density and the length of time they kept those animals and whether they were horses, cattle or sheep. Landowners taking on horses for three months of the year to draw down a payment will lose their payment. We can no longer afford this luxury.

If there was a genuine reason in 2011 that people had a low stocking rate, such as a death in the family, a son or daughter taking over the farm and stocking rates being reduced to wean him or her in, or an illness or disease outbreak in the herd, we want to hear about it and such genuine cases will get their payments back. This is what I mean by an appeal system. Some of people who simply maintain land to get a disadvantaged areas payment and do the bare minimum with regard to keeping stock for the minimum amount of time will lose their payments and this is the right approach when we have a reduced amount of money to spend. We must prioritise active and real farmers.

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